The draft would be the wise way to go for the Falcons, considering that most of the top pass-rushers heading toward free agency (which begins March 9) are either already locked down by the franchise tag or will be too expensive to pursue anyhow. The Falcons are expected to have between $26 million and $29 million in cap space when the new league year starts, based on a projected salary cap of between $166 million and $168 million. And the priority apparently will be re-signing their own players rather than making a big splash.

The upcoming NFL combine in Indianapolis will give the Falcons a closer look at top draft prospects such as Barnett, Harris and McKinley, among others. McKinley intends to go through the combine testing before having shoulder surgery.

The emergence of nose tackle Grady Jarrett, who tied a Super Bowl record with three sacks, is certain to help bolster the Falcons pass rush. So could the return of versatile defensive lineman Derrick Shelby, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear after playing in just six games. But in order for Quinn to play the attacking style he favors, finding another strong edge rusher is crucial.

Freeney, with his signature spin move, still could be that guy in spurts. But again, the Falcons have to think well beyond just next season. And Freeney, with 122.5 career sacks, won’t play forever.

• FAQs about the franchise tag
• Franchise-tag predictions for all 32 teams
• Biggest free-agent decisions for all teams
• A free agent every team should sign

During that span, we’ve seen teams benefit from the arrangement when they preferred not to make a long-term commitment to their best players. The tag has sometimes provided the necessary structure to jump-start negotiations. Occasionally, we’ve seen it work out well for players. (Seattle Seahawks left tackle Walter Jones got to sit out three consecutive training camps, all while earning top dollar as the franchise player, before signing a lucrative long-term deal in 2005.)

So in this momentous year, let’s look back at five of the best and worst franchise-tag decisions of 202 total from 1993 to 2016.

Quality is based on the perspective of the team, rather than the player who was tagged, and are, of course, up for debate.

Best franchise-tag decisions

Sean Gilbert, DT, Washington Redskins | Years: 1997-98

The Redskins paid dearly to acquire Gilbert in 1996, sending the No. 6 overall pick to the Rams, so they wanted to get more than one season for their trouble. But Gilbert was a union-minded veteran who drove a hard bargain, and he sat out the 1997 season rather than play under the franchise tag. Rather than pay him, though, the Redskins used the franchise tag again and waited while the Panthers rescued them. Rather than getting saddled with a weighty deal the Panthers soon regretted, the Redskins turned Gilbert into a pair of future first-round picks.

Peerless Price, WR, Buffalo Bills | Year: 2003

Sometimes, teams use the franchise tag to increase trade return. The Bills capitalized on Price’s career year — 94 receptions, 1,252 yards, nine touchdowns — in 2002 to dangle him with the tag the following offseason. The Falcons were known to regret passing on Price in the 1999 draft and still wanted him as a weapon for quarterback Michael Vick. Atlanta surrendered its first-round pick in 2003, No. 23 overall, for a player the Bills weren’t planning to bring back. In turn, the Bills used the pick on tailback Willis McGahee — who sat out his rookie year while recovering from a knee injury but then produced 3,365 yards and 24 touchdowns from 2004 to 2006.

Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee Titans | Year: 2008

Haynesworth was one of the NFL’s most dynamic and confounding interior disruptors at the time, and the Titans did not meet his demands for a long-term deal. They let him play out the 2008 season under the tag, getting a career-high 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles from him, and then let him sign a monster free-agent contract with the Redskins in 2009. (By prior agreement, the Titans couldn’t tag him again.) His new deal — which included a then-record $41 million in guarantees — turned out to be one of the worst in free-agent history. Haynesworth was totally disinterested in playing, was traded after appearing in only 20 games and was out of football by the end of the 2011 season. Whether by design or accident, the Titans got out from under him just in time.

In part because of their shrewd/ruthless use of the tag, the Bears got eight highly productive years from Forte at an overall average of $4.375 million per season. Between 2008 and 2015, no running back had more combined rushing/receiving yards than Forte (12,718). The Bears made him a low offer in 2011, knowing they could use the tag in 2012 if needed. Forte turned it down, and the following year, the sides agreed on a four-year deal worth $32 million. At the time, Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson was earning more than $14 million per year. Forte’s compensation remains one of the most stark examples of how the franchise tag can suppress the salary of high-end players.

Anthony Spencer, DE/LB, Dallas Cowboys | Years: 2012-13

In truth, this two-year arrangement worked out well (financially) for both sides. In 2012, Spencer delivered the Cowboys a career season. He totaled 11 sacks and 95 total tackles in 14 games, in exchange for about $8.8 million. The Cowboys franchised him for a second consecutive year in 2013, at a cost of $10.6 million. Spencer then suffered a knee injury that required microfracture surgery. He played in only one game that season and was out of football by 2015. So in the end, the Cowboys were able to pay as they went rather than commit to a long-term deal. And Spencer received a total of $19.4 million over two years, at least as much if not more than he would have taken in over two seasons of a multiyear deal.

Worst franchise-tag decisions

Joey Galloway, WR, Seahawks/Cowboys | Year: 2000

Let’s be clear. The Seahawks made a great decision to franchise Galloway, even though he was 29 and had caught only 22 passes in 1999 after an eight-game holdout. The Cowboys made the huge blunder here. They were so infatuated with the idea of adding a playmaking receiver that they sent two first-round picks to acquire Galloway’s rights. He never produced a 1,000-yard season for them and scored only 11 touchdowns in three full seasons before being traded again in 2004. The Seahawks used the picks to select running back Shaun Alexander in 2000 and receiver Koren Robinson in 2001.

Steve Hutchinson, G, Seahawks | Year: 2006

In this case, the Seahawks erred in not using the franchise tag. Hutchinson was an All-Pro player who wanted elite money at a position that rarely got it. The Seahawks used the transition tag, which offered them only the right of first refusal, to let Hutchinson find his true worth on the market. He did, signing a precedent-setting $49 million offer sheet with the Vikings that contained a “poison pill” that made it impossible for the Seahawks to match. In the end, the Seahawks got too cute and received no compensation for losing a Hall of Fame player that they wanted back all along.

Greg Hardy, DE, Carolina Panthers | Year: 2014

To be fair, the Panthers extended the tag three months before Hardy was charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend. He had already signed the tender by the time the incident occurred, preventing the Panthers from rescinding it. But in the end, the Panthers got only one game out of him (and one sack) while still paying the entirety of his $13.4 million salary. Almost no production, and nationwide scorn, proved a double scar for the franchise.

Josh Norman, CB, Panthers | Year: 2015

I did my best last season to justify and explain the Panthers’ thinking here. There was absolutely an argument to make for allowing a 29-year-old cornerback to move on, especially by a team that philosophically favors building from the interior, rather than committing to multiple years of eight-digit salaries. But you must have a reasonable plan for replacement, and the 2016 season proved the Panthers did not. They ranked No. 24 in defensive QBR, allowing the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL (4,291), despite a pass rush that recorded 47 sacks — second most in the NFL. If nothing else, the Panthers should have allowed Norman to play out the season on the franchise tag and then parted ways.

Last Saturday, Jerry Jones said a decision on Romo’s future has not been made and he hasn’t had recent discussions with the quarterback, but that doesn’t mean things can’t come together quickly. By now, Romo’s cap figure ($24.7 million) and cap savings if he is released ($5.1 million) are seared into the brains of every Cowboys fan. They should already know the difference between a June 1 cut and an outright release, which would save the Cowboys $14 million in cap space in 2017 but have him count $8.9 million against the cap in 2018.

If the Cowboys go the release route with Romo, it won’t happen until March 9 at the earliest. That’s the first day they can use the June 1 designation.

For those wondering about a potential trade, Jones has often said a player’s value is at his lowest around the draft, which could hamper a deal. While Romo’s base salaries from 2017 to 2019 are not guaranteed, the $14 million he’s due this year could make a deal difficult. Plus, Romo has a de facto trade veto because he can simply say he has no desire to go to Team X, which would tighten his market.

All of this is difficult, but not impossible.

What happens either on the Cowboys’ bus or in their hotel suite this week will go a long way in determining Romo’s future.

How much will Prescott, Elliott preside over this combine?

The 2017 running back class is a strong one, with the likes of Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara considered first-rounders. Do any of them grade as well as Elliott did at every aspect of the position, from running to catching to blocking? The Cowboys took Elliott that high — which went against conventional wisdom that says a runner can be found anywhere — because he was a three-down back.

Prescott’s ability to prosper right away was surprising to many, if not himself, and his success could help in the evaluations of other quarterbacks from spread offenses such as DeShaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes and Davis Webb.

Framing their needs

Teams are allowed 60 official interviews of prospects at the combine and unlimited unofficial interviews. A year ago, the Cowboys spent time with all of the top quarterbacks, save for Carson Wentz, whom they worked with for a week at the Senior Bowl.

Quarterback will not be nearly the focus this year as it was last year. The focus this year figures to be on cornerback and pass-rushers, which is considered two of the deeper positions in the draft. The Cowboys use the combine to help the coaches get to know the prospects, better and they then use the information gathered in Indianapolis to formulate their top 30 draft visits.

The Cowboys do not window dress their draft visitors. If a player visits, there is a strong likelihood the Cowboys are serious about drafting him. Since 2004, the only first picks not to visit the Cowboys before the draft were DeMarcus Ware (2005) and Morris Claiborne (2012).

At No. 28 overall in the first round, the Cowboys will be at the mercy of the draft board when they pick, but they will land a player they covet.

Free agency talk

The shopping officially starts March 9, but teams can talk with free agents starting March 7, although they are not supposed to come to terms on a deal. The legal tampering period is a nice touch, but the real work in free agency is laid out mostly at the combine.

For the Cowboys, they will meet with the agents of their 18 unrestricted free agents and get a better feel for what is being offered and what they can afford. The chances of re-signing a player to a deal this close to free agency are difficult, but, like a potential Romo trade, not impossible. With so much cap room available to teams, players are normally better off waiting to see what’s on the open market.

If the Cowboys get anything done, however, it will be at their prices. They have displayed a discipline in free agency the last few years that they had not always shown.

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley recently said Ingram will be a good fit in his system as a Leo defensive end, as the Chargers switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive alignment.

“With his production and his effort, he’s just been a highly productive player,” Bradley said. “I just think for him it’s the opportunity to rush more and be on the line of scrimmage more.

“He’ll have his times when he has to drop, but the percentage is going to change to where it’s going to lean more towards giving him the ability to rush.”

Beisides keeping Bosa and Ingram together, the Chargers did not have much choice because there’s no one on the roster that can replace Ingram’s production. The Chargers like the potential of young pass-rushers like Jeremiah Attaochu and Chris Landrum, but neither has shown that they can put up double-digit sacks over a full season like Ingram.

The Chargers also reap the benefit of all of the years they have put in developing Ingram into one of the more polished pass-rushers in the game.

Selected No. 18 overall in the 2012 draft, Ingram struggled to stay healthy his first three years in the league, which included ACL surgery on his left knee in 2013 and a hip issue in 2014.

However, after shedding 20 pounds and committing to a better nutrition plan during the 2015 offseason, Ingram finally began to play to his potential. And it appears the Chargers are in line to benefit, with Ingram’s best years in the NFL potentially ahead of him.